Notre Dame Cathedral: ‘lot of work’ before rebuild can begin

The rooster which plunged to the ground during the fire Notre Dame cathedral is displayed at the Culture Ministry in Paris, Friday, Sept. 20, 2019. The rooster, long a symbol of France, tumbled to the ground in the April blaze that consumed the cathedral’s roof and collapsed its spire. The bird somehow survived, and is going on public display this weekend. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

PARIS (AP) — Notre Dame Cathedral has far to go to recover from a destructive fire but a hardy copper rooster that once topped the spire is serving as a reminder that all wasn’t lost.

Roosters are a symbol of France. The small bird that adorned Notre Dame plunged to the ground in the April fire that collapsed the spire and consumed the roof.

High heat and the long fall deformed the cathedral-capping rooster, but it survived and is going on public display this weekend.

French Culture Minister Frank Riester says the rooster is a “witness to what happened in this terrible fire.”

Riester said Friday that work to stabilize the cathedral’s structure continues and reconstruction isn’t expected to start for at least a few months.

Notre Dame will be closed to the public for several years.

Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.